The present invention relates to grouting, and more particularly to the field of electronic gathering, monitoring, analyzing, managing, and utilizing of grouting information in order to facilitate and control drilling, testing, installation of grouting materials, and other grouting operations.
Grouting is practiced in the construction industry for many purposes. Grouting techniques have been successfully used in many applications including, for example: displacement/densification of soils; stabilization of rock formations; void filling; re-leveling of settled slabs and footings; containment of surface and subsurface water flow; sinkhole remediation and inhibiting further sinkhole development; dam and levee construction; landfill barrier formation; surface subsidence; foundation grouting; driven pile wall re-enforcement; slip liner construction; and tunnel and service conduit reconstruction and abandonment.
There are numerous types of grouts in use today. Grout is typically comprised of a mixture of cement, fly ash, water, and various additives or a solution (chemical) grout such as sodium silicate, acrylates, polyurethanes, etc. The proportions of each ingredient, as well as the selection of additives, can be adjusted to control the grout characteristics such as apparent viscosity (marsh funnel flow time), cohesion, set or gel time, compressive strength, and the like. For example, sodium silicate is commonly used to produce a structural grout suitable for applications involving loose, sandy soils. As the sodium silicate mixture is injected, it permeates the soil resulting in a hardened mass similar to a soft sandstone. The gel time of the sodium silicate can be controlled to limit the radius of influence by modifying the concentrations. Sodium silicate has been effectively used to increase bearing capacity of in-place soils, to underpin existing structures, to control underground water flow, and to provide excavation support of existing structures (or soil) in lieu of sheet piling.
Common methods of installing grout require a sequence of several operations. Typically, holes are first drilled into soil, rock or concrete structures. If the holes are in rock or concrete, the hole is typically washed, then partitioned and tested in stages to evaluate the characteristics of the subsurface conditions. If it is determined that the hole requires treatment, the appropriate type of grout is then injected into the stage or stages of the hole where necessary under controlled pressures. Grout injection continues until the volume of grout injected, reduction in grout flow rate and/or the injection pressures indicate that the stage has been treated satisfactorily. Often times, grouting projects will include several lines of these grout holes and the individual lines may include multiple series of holes, with the distance between the holes on the individual lines becoming successively closer.
As previously described, the monitoring of injection pressures, grout flow rates, and total injected grout volumes on each stage of every hole at the grouting site is critical to the success of a grouting project. Parameters such as pressure and volume are commonly measured using inductive flow meters, pump strokes, transducers, and other known sensors. Common methods of monitoring grouting pressures and volumes involve manual reading, calculation, and recording of pressures and volumes. These manual operations are typically performed by operators at each grouting site, who commonly record data and calculations on paper data sheets. These known methods are labor intensive, and are highly subject to human error. As the number of borings and other grouting sites increase, such as on a large concrete dam, the monitoring of grouting operations becomes exponentially more difficult, resulting in higher labor costs, increased total grouting time, and higher likelihood of error.
Known methods of monitoring grout volume and pressure involve rudimentary electronic monitoring using chart recorders. Traditional chart recorders monitor only a single source, use analog signals, and record resulting data on paper charts. More modern chart recorders provide for electronic monitoring of several data sources (such sensors in grout lines) simultaneously, and can either record data electronically, such as on a memory card, or through a communications link to a personal computer (xe2x80x9cPCxe2x80x9d). However, in every known method, operators at each grouting site must gather their own information, perform calculations, and manually make adjustments independent of the other grouting sites. Thus, known methods do not facilitate automatic data gathering, calculations, data manipulation, and real- time information sharing between grouting sites. Moreover, known apparatus do not provide a centralized, readily-accessible computerized apparatus for accurate grouting data gathering, manipulation, sharing, and storage.
Therefore, the need exists for a system and method which provide automated, centralized, and readily-accessible gathering, manipulation, sharing, and storage of grouting data. This long-felt need is especially felt at large grouting sites, such as dams, where multiple holes must be monitored and controlled, and where holes have different stages of operational and grouting completion at any given time.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention, through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specific features or sub-components thereof, is provided to bring about one or more objects and advantages, such as those specifically noted below.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for gathering, monitoring, analyzing, managing, and utilizing grouting information in order to facilitate and control grouting operations such as drilling, testing, washing, and installation of grouting materials.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method that prevents the loss or destruction of critical job information by replacing the traditional data gathering methods and paper forms associated with each grouting operation with electronic record data gathering and storage that can be easily accessed, reviewed, and manipulated. It is a further object to improve and enhance the quality, efficiency and organization of stored expert knowledge at, for example, a progressive grouting site by storing data in a central database. Still another object is to provide an apparatus and method for searching previously completed grouting operations based on various search criteria.
Yet another object of the invention is to lessen the effort and time required to analyze completed construction work to determine the effectiveness of grouting operations. This can be accomplished by automatic generation of reports by querying the central database and by providing various display screens and viewing modes to display gathered data, including 2-D and 3-D viewing modes, an overhead plan view mode, and an orthographic viewing mode. Other viewing functions which facilitate effective analysis of the grouting installation include, for example, zooming, panning, and rotating.
The present invention, therefore, is directed to a system and method provided for electronically creating a grouting plan, initiating grouting operations pursuant to the plan, monitoring, manipulating, and controlling grouting operations, and storing and retrieving data from said operations. The apparatus and method use electronic apparatus and software to provide a graphical user interface for use by operators involved in all phases of grouting operations.
The apparatus of the present invention is comprised of: at least one sensor which generates signals containing information relating to grouting operations; at least one server equipped with server software, database software, and computer-aided drafting software, which server is linked to said sensor by a communications link; one or more microprocessors having at least one input device, equipment controller software, computer-aided drafting software, and database software, which microprocessor is communicably linked to said server; and one or more display devices communicably linked to said microprocessor.
In other embodiments, the communications link between said sensor and said server is comprised of at least one junction box. In still other embodiments, the communications link may be further comprised of at least one equipment controller hardware, and optionally at least one chart recorder. Optionally, the junction box is also communicably linked to grouting equipment to permit electronic control of said grouting equipment.
In a preferred embodiment, the equipment controller hardware is PlantScape(copyright) Controller Hardware. Preferably, the server software is comprised of PlantScape(copyright) Process Base Server software, and the server database software comprises Microsoft(copyright) SQL Server 7.0 Relational Database software. Preferably, the computer-aided drafting software comprises AutoCAD(copyright) software.
In yet additional embodiments of the apparatus, more than one display device is provided, and at least one video switch is communicably linked to each display device to allow selection among said display devices. Preferably, at least one display device is also communicably linked to the server to receive and display information from said server. Optionally, at least one display device is a plasma display device. Moreover, while any known communications means and communications architecture can link the various components of the apparatus, preferably the server and microprocessor are communicably linked in a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network.
The present invention further comprises a method for electronically creating a grouting plan, and for monitoring and controlling grouting operations. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: providing an apparatus for electronically monitoring, manipulating, and controlling grouting operations; generating and displaying on said apparatus one or more input windows; entering one or more operational grouting parameters into said input windows; and processing said operational grouting parameters to create a grouting plan. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus used to perform the method is the apparatus of the present invention.
In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of initiating the grouting plan. The method may further comprise the step of electronically gathering data resulting from grouting operations pursuant to said grouting plan.
In still other embodiments, the parameters are selected from the group comprised of: grouting operational parameters; new project parameters; water test layout; grouting operations layout; mix type controller; head loss factors; pressure parameters; refusal parameters; calibration factors; data parameters; and trends.
In still other embodiments, the method further comprises the step of electronically gathering data resulting from grouting operations pursuant to said grouting plan. Preferably, data resulting from grouting operations are selected from the group consisting of: time; date; flow rate; lugeon value; injection pressure; volume; static head; head loss; stage depth; hole diameter; and hole location. Preferably, grouting operations monitored and controlled by the methods of the present invention are selected from the group consisting of: hole layout; hole definition; hole drilling; hole washing; water testing; grout injection; and grout testing.
In another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, each step of displaying input windows on said display device is accomplished by the steps of: generating a first screen display comprising one or more graphs comprising measured or calculated data; selecting one of said graphs; and displaying, in response to the selection of one of said graphs, a second screen display on said display device. Optionally, the method comprises the steps of providing an icon on said display device, and selecting said icon to display, in response to said selection of said icon, a table of data on said display device.